House of Tudor - King Edward VI
Name: King Edward VI
Father: Henry VIII
Mother: Jane Seymour
Born: October 12, 1537 at Hampton Court
Ascended to the throne: January 28, 1547 aged 9 years
Crowned: February 19, 1547 at Westminster
Married: Never married
Died: July 6, 1553 at Greenwich Palace, aged 15 years, 8 months, and 23 days
Buried at: Westminster Abbey
King of England from 1547, only son of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour. The government was entrusted to his uncle the Duke of Somerset (who fell from power in 1549), and then to the Earl of Warwick, later created Duke of Northumberland. He was succeeded by his sister Mary I.
Edward became a staunch Protestant, and during his reign the Reformation progressed. He died of tuberculosis, and his will, probably prepared by the Duke of Northumberland, set aside that of his father so as to exclude his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, from the succession. He nominated Lady Jane Grey, a granddaughter of Henry VII, who had recently married Northumberland's son Lord Guildford Dudley and wanted to maintain a Protestant succession. Jane was just 16 years old but although proclaimed queen by Northumberland she was unwilling and not crowned.
Meanwhile, Henry's catholic daughter Mary, Edwards half sister, was also proclaimed queen. The situation was resolved when 9 days later Mary and her supporters rode into London and she was accepted as queen and crowned.
King Edward VI's Signature
Timeline for King Edward VI
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1547 | Edward VI accedes to the throne at the age of nine after the death of his father, Henry VIII. |
| 1547 | Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, uncle of Edward VI, is invested as Duke of Somerset and Protector of England. |
| 1547 | The English army defeats the Scots at Pinkie Cleugh as part of an attempt to force a marriage between Edward VI and Mary Queen of Scots. |
| 1548 | The French send over 6,000 troops to prevent the English from gaining control of the Scottish Borders. |
| 1549 | The First Act of Uniformity is passed, making the Roman Catholic mass illegal. The clergy are ordered to remove icons and statues of the saints, and whitewash over wall paintings. |
| 1549 | The First Book of Common Prayer is introduced, which changes the Church service from Latin to English. |
| 1549 | Armed rebellions in the West Country against religious reform, and in Norfolk against land enclosures. The Norfolk rebellion led by Robert Kett takes Norwich but is defeated by the Earl of Warwick at Dussindale. |
| 1550 | The Duke of Somerset is deposed as Protector of England, and is replaced by John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, who creates himself Duke of Northumberland. |
| 1552 | The Duke of Somerset is executed |
| 1552 | Archbishop Cranmer publishes the Second book of Common Prayer. |
| 1553 | The Duke of Northumberland persuades Edward to nominate his daughter-in-law Lady Jane Grey as his heir, in an attempt to secure the Protestant succession. |
| 1553 | Edward VI dies of tuberculosis at Greenwich Palace. |